Maybe a little off-topic, because it weren't times were you steered me wrong... I already owned the games, but I felt different about those games you reviewed:

Rocket Knight Adventures (Sega Genesis) Rated: C - I love this little, very charming game. It's one of the best platformers I ever played and everything I play it, it makes me feel like a kid again. A-materiaal imo

Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Sega Master System) Rated: D+ - I guess I can't be objective about this one because of nostalgia, so maybe you review was justified. I still find it a wonderful charming game... B.

Rage (Xbox 360) Rated: D - I thought it was very nice, good FPS, with interesting missions and locations and developed very well. Would have rated it around B.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (Xbox 360) Rated: F - I already don't get the hatred around this game. Okay, so it wasn't as good as the Sega Genesis game, but probably no new Sonic game ever will. Around C+ for me.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii) - So yes, maybe it can be a little annoying when you have to shake off the ghosts. But for me, this game was great, with a fantastic atmosphere and story that really good me hooked. B+

Retro STrife wrote:-Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 (Wii) - I felt burned by Super Mario Sunshine and was ready to give up on 3D Mario. The rave reviews around the internet for these games got me rethinking that, and then your reviews pushed me over the fence. I played and beat both of these games, but always felt like I was forcing myself to finish them, rather than actually wanting to. Better than SMS, but still couldn't get into them. That said, I know I'm an outlier on those games, and most people probably agree with the scores.

Honestly, 3D Mario does nothing for me, whatsoever. I don't see the big deal at all. I got Mario Odyssey for the family with the Switch for Christmas, and the furthest any of the 4 of us are at the moment is world 3, with no one playing much of it. My autistic son occasionally likes to run around in it, but other than that, the game's pretty much unplayed.

I got Vice: Project Doom based on your review; that’s a fantastic game.

Generally I check your reviews any time I’m looking at 2600 games. Anything in my collection that isn’t a well known arcade port or a licensed novelty is based on your reviews.

I can think of plenty of cases of me disagreeing with a negative score you gave a game I already played, but no instances of me buying a game you gave a good review and not liking it. I imagine I may have been steered away from a couple games I might like by your negative reviews, but I have no way of knowing which ones those could be, so what I don’t know won’t hurt me!

Retro STrife wrote:-Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 (Wii) - I felt burned by Super Mario Sunshine and was ready to give up on 3D Mario. The rave reviews around the internet for these games got me rethinking that, and then your reviews pushed me over the fence. I played and beat both of these games, but always felt like I was forcing myself to finish them, rather than actually wanting to. Better than SMS, but still couldn't get into them. That said, I know I'm an outlier on those games, and most people probably agree with the scores.

Honestly, 3D Mario does nothing for me, whatsoever. I don't see the big deal at all. I got Mario Odyssey for the family with the Switch for Christmas, and the furthest any of the 4 of us are at the moment is world 3, with no one playing much of it. My autistic son occasionally likes to run around in it, but other than that, the game's pretty much unplayed.

3D platformers are the same to me. I don’t like open world games. I know that Odyssey and BOTW are the big draws on the Switch, and I just have no interest in those. But....Give me a 2D platformer with defined stages and great control and I’m satisfied.

We just have a Wii and play three games at the moment: New Mario, Mario Kart, and DKC Returns. They especially like the co-op Mario Bros

Retro STrife wrote:-Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 (Wii) - I felt burned by Super Mario Sunshine and was ready to give up on 3D Mario. The rave reviews around the internet for these games got me rethinking that, and then your reviews pushed me over the fence. I played and beat both of these games, but always felt like I was forcing myself to finish them, rather than actually wanting to. Better than SMS, but still couldn't get into them. That said, I know I'm an outlier on those games, and most people probably agree with the scores.

Honestly, 3D Mario does nothing for me, whatsoever. I don't see the big deal at all. I got Mario Odyssey for the family with the Switch for Christmas, and the furthest any of the 4 of us are at the moment is world 3, with no one playing much of it. My autistic son occasionally likes to run around in it, but other than that, the game's pretty much unplayed.

3D platformers are the same to me. I don’t like open world games. I know that Odyssey and BOTW are the big draws on the Switch, and I just have no interest in those. But....Give me a 2D platformer with defined stages and great control and I’m satisfied.

We just have a Wii and play three games at the moment: New Mario, Mario Kart, and DKC Returns. They especially like the co-op Mario Bros

Well I'm glad I'm not alone. In the gaming world, Mario is one of the few series where men with pitchforks come after you if you say the slightest thing negative about it. It'll be good to have people running alongside me.

I've been using the VGC reviews of Atari 8-bit (XEGS) to pick up games with great results. Spot on reviews here!

I believe there have only been a few game reviews on the site that I haven't completely agreed with. The one that comes to mind is the review of Double Dragon on the Sega Master System. My friend had a Master System and this game and we had fun playing it. While surely not the best title on the system I'd still rank well over the "F" rating it got by VGC.

AtariToday wrote:I believe there have only been a few game reviews on the site that I haven't completely agreed with. The one that comes to mind is the review of Double Dragon on the Sega Master System. My friend had a Master System and this game and we had fun playing it. While surely not the best title on the system I'd still rank well over the "F" rating it got by VGC.

Heh, that's one I absolutely do agree with. I've never understood why SMS fans rate that port highly; to me, the only thing it's got going for it is the 2P simultaneous action. (The FM soundtrack is pretty good too.)

I don't usually find that the VGC steers me wrong -- at least, not by steering me toward games I don't like. Sometimes he gives a bad review to a game I like (Panic, Wirehead) or even love (Gain Ground), but that's to be expected.

Looking over the SMS list, though, I am surprised that Golden Axe gets an A-. Does it really live up to that standard? And I hate Blackthorne on the 32X (which got an A) but the VGC is far from alone in esteeming it. At least he gave a bad grade to Kolibri, a pretty game that's no fun to play and even worse in 2P mode.

Finally, I think Mazin Saga on the Genesis doesn't deserve anything like an A-; those boss fights are just too much of a cheap, frustrating drag for that.

I just remembered another game where the VGC got it 'wrong' (at least for me). You rated Sonic and the Secret Rings B, so I decided to give it a chance (also, the graphics looked good on screenshots...). But I detest this game. Yes, it looks good, but the controls are horrible and the loading times and especially the level structure is tedious...